Israeli Airstrikes Flatten 2 Gaza Homes, Killing Over 90 Palestinians

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 90 Palestinians, including dozens from an extended family, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two homes in Gaza, rescuers and hospital officials said Saturday, a day after the U.N. chief warned that nowhere is safe in the territory and that Israel’s offensive creates “massive obstacles” to distribution of humanitarian aid.

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, calling it a long and private conversation a day after the Biden administration again shielded Israel in the diplomatic arena. On Friday, the U.N. Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution that calls for immediately speeding up aid deliveries to desperate civilians in Gaza, but not for a cease-fire.

Israeli campaign to kill Hamas leaders likely to backfire, say earlier assassination targets

A worldwide campaign of assassinations of Hamas leaders announced by senior Israel officials is likely to be counterproductive, impractical and ineffective, targets of previous such efforts have suggested.

Benjamin Netanyahu first announced the new strategy two weeks after the 7 October attacks launched by Hamas into southern Israel which killed 1,200 people.

Dump All Your Carbon Emissions in Alberta, Pitches Smith

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has a solution to Canada’s carbon emissions: dump them underground in Alberta.

Smith is a proponent of carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, where carbon dioxide emissions are captured from large industrial emitters, turned into a fluid and injected underground via pipeline. She is such a booster of the technology that during a Dec. 7 news conference from Dubai, where she was attending the COP28 climate summit, she was irrepressibly positive about CCS’s future.

Russia warns US and Europe over reports Ukraine may get its seized assets

The Kremlin has threatened Europe and the US with “serious consequences”, including tit-for-tat financial seizures or even a break in diplomatic relations, if Russian assets held abroad are given to aid the Ukrainian budget and war effort.

A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin told reporters on Friday that if the Biden administration and European leaders planned to seize Russian central bank assets believed to be in excess of $300bn (£236bn) that were frozen after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, they should “realise that Russia will never leave those who do it alone”.

Supreme Court Rejects Special Counsel Request To Rule On Trump Immunity Claim Immediately

WASHINGTON ― The Supreme Court on Friday denied a request from special counsel Jack Smith to step in and immediately rule on Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution for his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol because they were “official” acts and part of his job.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan earlier this month ruled that Trump’s attempt to overturn the election and remain in power was not part of his official duties and he would have to stand trial on the charges listed in Smith’s indictment.

Greene Demands Biden Treason Charges After Trump Barred From Colorado Ballot

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, recently decried a ruling from the Colorado State Supreme Court barring Trump from appearing on the ballot for the 2024 presidential election, calling for President Joe Biden to be prosecuted for treason instead.

Such a demand is an extreme reaction, even for the far right lawmaker, given what it entails — the federal crime of treason is defined as “levying war against the United States, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort,” and can carry a penalty of death. Greene offered no evidence warranting charging Biden with treason, other than the fact that she wants him to enact more xenophobic immigration policies.

Lara Trump Admits She'd Happily Be Her Father-In-Law's Vice President

Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former president Donald Trump, said on her podcast that she’s open to also being his vice president should he be reelected.

She made the admission on a recent episode of her podcast, “The Right View with Lara Trump,” after a viewer asked her if she would accept the position of being her father-in-law’s running mate, assuming he actually asked her. 

It should be noted that she has no political experience outside of working on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, though she did briefly consider running to be Senator of North Carolina in 2022.

Recording Shows Trump Pressed Michigan Republicans To Not Certify Election Results: Report

Former President Donald Trump was recorded pressing two Wayne County, Michigan, election canvassers to not certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Detroit News reported Thursday.

According to four recordings listened to by the Detroit News, which were reportedly made by a person present during the conversation, the then-president and Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chair, spoke with Monica Palmer and William Hartmann — Republican members of the county’s Board of Canvassers — on Nov. 17, 2020. At the time, Trump was falsely claiming the election had been stolen from him, filing dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits based on unfounded claims of voter fraud.

Kellyanne Conway Asks Gov. Kristi Noem If She Could Bar Biden From South Dakota Ballot

A smirking Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday asked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) if she could remove President Joe Biden from the ballot in her state. (Watch the video below.)

Subbing for Fox News host Sean Hannity, Conway appeared to wax sarcastic with her guest after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to omit Republican front-runner Donald Trump from that state’s primary ballot. The court cited a constitutional amendment barring insurrectionists from holding office.

Republican outrage was swift, and Conway, a former adviser in the Trump White House, appeared to pile on with her silly leading question.

Maine Secretary Of State Delays Trump Ballot Decision After Colorado Ruling

Maine’s secretary of state has delayed a decision to determine whether former President Donald Trump should appear on next year’s presidential primary ballot, following a decision from the Colorado Supreme Court determining he is ineligible there.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was expected to make a decision Friday about Trump’s eligibility, but will allow for more time for both sides to make arguments after Colorado’s historic ruling this week, the Portland Press Herald reported. Bellows said she plans to issue a ruling early next week.